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Golden Gate Quartet Sings

by: Old Time Radio Researchers Group

THE GOLDEN GATE QUARTET SINGS
The Golden Gate Quartet was formed in the late 1920s in Norfolk, VA, by some graduates of the city’s Booker T. Washington High School. Composed originally of lead Henry Owens, tenor Clyde Reddick, baritone Willie Johnson, and bass Orlando Wilson (bass), the lineup has changed numerous times over the course of the quartet’s existence. They first appeared on radio in 1935 over WBT in Charlotte, NC.

The next year, 1936, the group went to Columbia, South Carolina, and asked a radio station manager if they could sign live on the radio. He gave them ten minutes to sing three or four songs. The audience reaction was so good, the manager offered them a Monday through Friday slot, beginning the following week. In 1937, the Quartet recorded 14 songs in less than two hours for the Bluebird recording label, a subsidiary of Victor Records. 1941 was a banner year for the group in which they accomplished three major goals: recording their first record for Columbia, performing their first tour outside the United States (in Mexico), and appearing in their first movie, Paramount’s Star Spangled Rhythm.

The Golden Gate Quartet Sings was a production of Transcription Sales Inc., of Springfield, OH, which began releasing the 260-episode series in 1950. Tom Scott narrated each quarter-hour episode, introducing the group and each song. The episodes alternated between featuring secular folk songs and featuring traditional spirituals. These recordings represent the tail end of The Golden Gate Quartet’s broadcasting popularity during the Golden Age of Radio.

The group continues to perform today, albeit with a new generation of performers.
OTRR Release Information:

Series Name: Golden Gate Quartet Sings
Release Status: OTRR Maintained
Release Date: June 13, 2019
Release Version: Version 1906
Number of DVDs: 2

Note that all the episodes are presented twice. The first DVD contains OTRR Maintenance files and all of the episodes in MP3 format. The second and larger DVD contains the exact same episodes again, but in FLAC-file format.
From the Old Time Radio Researchers Group (OTRR). See "Notes" Section below for more information on the OTRR.

Notes

OLD TIME RADIO RESEARCHERS GROUP

This is a production of the Old Time Radio Researchers (OTRR) Group located at Old Time Radio Researchers Website (www.otrr.org), Old Time Radio Researchers Facebook Group, and Old Time Radio Researchers Group.

It contains the most complete and accurate version of this series in the best sound possible at the time of creation. An updated version will be issued if more episodes or better sounding ones become available.

If you are interested in preserving Old Time Radio (OTR), you may wish to join the Old Time Radio Researchers Group at Facebook and Groups.io.

Relax, listen, and enjoy!

OTRR Definitions:

OTRR Maintained Set -- This set contains all known episodes in the best available audio condition with the most accurate dates and titles known to be in general circulation and based on current research at the time of release. Replaces OTRR Certified Accurate and OTRR Certified Complete.

OTRR Non-Maintained Set -- A collection of shows that has not gone through the OTRR Maintenance process.

Pre-2019 OTRR Definitions:

OTRR Certified Accurate -- A series that was "Certified Accurate" indicated that all the episodes were properly identified and labeled based on current information but that the series did not contain all known extant episodes.

OTRR Certified Complete -- A series that was "Certified Complete" achieved the highest level of certification available under the OTRR Certified Standards. This certification level implied that all the files in the series were "Certified Accurate" and also indicated that the series was as complete as possible and included all circulating episodes.

OTRR Non-Certified -- A collection of shows that has not gone through the OTRR Certification process.

Also, beginning in 2019, the version numbers of our OTRR releases changed format -- instead of v1.0 or v2.1, we are now using a version number that reflects the year and month the set was released. The format used is a two-digit year followed by a two-digit month. For example, "v1906" indicates a set that was released in June 2019, or "v1910" indicates a set released in October 2019.

NOTE: There are no passwords for any of our ZIP files. If you are prompted for a password, before downloading the file again, try unzipping the file into a shorter full folder path name -- for example, unzip to "C:\" instead of "C:\Documents and Settings\your_Windows_ID\some_other_folder\". Sorry, some of our releases contain long folder and file names, which sometimes manifests itself on the Windows platform as prompting for a password for the ZIP file. Or try renaming the ZIP file itself to a shorter name before unzipping.